Life vests and life preservers are important pieces of equipment for individuals who work on or around the water. Life vests are generally positioned around a wearer's neck and are formed from a buoyant material. Life vests are particularly important in the event the wearer is unconscious or otherwise immobilized. In such situations, life vests not only prevent drowning, but they also allow the wearer to remain above the water where they are both visible and accessible by rescue personnel.
Problems arise, however, when the wearer of a life vest is located in a dangerous or difficult to reach area. Although the individual may remain afloat and visible, rescue personnel cannot reach the person to pull him or her to safety. This situation may arise, for example, when an individual falls from an offshore oil platform. Oil platforms are often located in deep seas and may rise several stories over the surface of the water. Individuals who fall from these platforms are often incapacitated or unconscious. Yet, the area around the base of the platform can prove extremely dangerous to rescue personnel. In rough seas such areas are inaccessible by rescue vessels.
What is needed, therefore, is a life vest that includes an extendible or inflatable boom that can be grabbed or otherwise accessed by rescue personnel. The boom would thereby permit rescue personnel to retrieve the wearer of the lift vest without having to be near the person. The present disclosure is aimed at fulfilling these and other needs.